1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a latch, and in particular to a latch having a rotatable handle with an integrally mounted defeater device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Latches for very large enclosures take on many different embodiments which are well known. However, improvements are possible in the enclosure handle field. Therefore an objective of the present invention to incorporate tool actuation of the defeater to rotate the handle and open the latch. In addition, the handle should accommodate either 3 5/16" locks or 23/8" locks or multiple locking of the handle. The tool actuating the defeater mechanism should require one of any number of tools, such as a screwdriver, for opening.
In addition, the latch should rotate 90 degrees in either a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction. Previous designs have limited rotation to one direction for opening and do not easily accommodate rotation in the other direction.
The latch should have hidden fasteners and internal screws and meet NEMA 12 and NEMA 4 standards to insure that the latch prevents entrance of gases, water and oil through the handle portion. The handle should therefore be sealed and prevent migration through the defeater and mounting hardware or through the spindle.
Prior handle devices have required a separate defeater mechanism for the lock. It can be appreciated that it is desireable to have an integral defeater mechanism to more easily meet the Nema requirements as well as for aesthetic and manufacturing reasons.
It can be seen then that a new and improved latch handle is needed which includes an integrally mounted defeater mechanism. In addition, the defeater mechanism should provide for actuation with a tool and should snap between the locked and the unlocked position. The rotation of the handle to actuate should be within a limited range and should be easily switchable between clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation for actuation. In addition, handles should accommodate several padlocks for locking the handle. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems related to large enclosure latch handles.